Lebanon talks uncertain as both Hezbollah & Israel refuse to budge
BEIRUT/JERUSALEM : Israeli troops launched an attack on Monday to seize a key town in south Lebanon from Hezbollah fighters holed up there, pressing the war on the Iranbacked group on the eve of rare talks between Israeli and Lebanese govt envoys.Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem, meanwhile, called on the Lebanese govt to cancel the talks, describing it as pointless. In a televised speech, he said the armed group will continue to confront Israeli attacks on Lebanon.With the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors to the US set to meet on Tuesday in Washington, Lebanon’s foreign minister said Beirut would use faceto-face negotiations to press for a ceasefire in the war. But the outlook for the meeting is uncertain. Israel has said it won’t discuss a ceasefire while Hezbollah has objected to negotiations with Israel.On the ground in south Lebanon, the Israeli military completed its encirclement of the town of Bint Jbeil just over the border and had begun a ground assault there, an Israeli military spokesperson and Lebanese sources said.This is a Reuters story.